Web Tower & Fence

There is an interesting spider web design that looks a fence, and in the middle is a weird tall thing that looks like a weird tower or something. Here is a photo of it:

(Photo: Troy Alexander/Rainforest Expedition Lodges Facebook)

Parakeets celebrating Christmas

My parakeets are celebrating Christmas with us. I made them paper stockings and a paper Chrstmas tree to go on one of their perches.
Interestingly enough, some birds like to chew on the paper, but my parakeets are staying away from the paper Christmas tree so far. I put the stockings outside their cage.

Olinguito

A new mammal was discovered that has bigger ears then the olingo, a bushier tail, a shorter, more pug-like face, a more richly colored body, and a differently shaped skull.

(Borrowed from the Daily Mail website for educational use)

World's biggest insect

In a tree on Little Barrier Island, a bug was found that's so big it eats carrots! Here is a picture of that bug:
 
Photo is from The Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8930070/Worlds-biggest-insect-is-so-huge-it-eats-carrots.html) and is used only for educational purposes here. Go click on their story!

Animals of the Chinese Zodiac

Today I made all the animals of the Chinese Zodiac! Here is a picture of all the animals of the Chinese Zodiac:

The twelve animals are dog, rat, pig, ox, rooster, snake, tiger, dragon, sheep, horse, rabbit, and monkey.

Now if you have seen the show Jackie Chan Adventures before, these animals are familiar, of course. That is because there are twelve talismans (these animals) that give the person holding them special powers.

Helpful mom

At a national park in South Africa, a baby elephant accidentally fell upside down on a bank. His mother helped him up! Who knew a mother elephant could be so helpful? Here is a picture of the mother elephant and her baby.

Photo from above-linked article in the Daily Record and Sunday Mail (UK).

Roly Poly baby

Today in the backyard, I saw a baby roly-poly for the first time! It was so small compared to an adult roly-ply and it wasn't black like the adult roly-ply either. Here's a picture of an adult roly-poly. 

Asian and African Elephants - Differences

Last week I went to the zoo and saw the new elephant exhibit, Jumbe (the black rhino), the new lion exhibit, and the new meerkat exhibits. And there I learned that Indian elephants have their ears in the shape of India, just like African elephants have their ears in the shape of Africa. I also learned that only the male Indian elephants have tusks and the females don't, unlike the African elephants because both sexes of the African elephants have tusks. I also learned that African elephants are not easy to tame but that Indian elephants are easy to tame.
Here is a great blog post comparing ears of Asian and African elephants - http://amazing-creature.blogspot.com/2011/03/elephant-facts-difference-between.html.

Black Rhino in Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

I'm so excited to see the black rhino when we get a zoo membership again! His name is Jumbe. Here is a picture of him.

(Photo from The Colorado Springs Business Journal)